Baden (Ontario) 4.65

Baden is a community in Township of Wilmot, Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It has a population of around 4500 and was named after Baden-Baden in Germany. (Approximate Population as of 2011 as per township statistics is 4,553)The area is the site of the Baden Tower, a huge television, radio and communications tower located on top of one of the Baden Hills. This tower is the transmitter for CKCO-DT, the CTV affiliate for Kitchener.Much of the area consists of farmlands and there are pine forests in the area. The local high school, Waterloo-Oxford District Secondary School, is located just outside the town.HistoryThe first settler in this area was Jacob Beck in 1854; he opened a large flour mill on the Spring Creek. A second flour mill, two saw mills, a flax mill and an iron foundry also opened in the next 20 years. The settlement was originally called Weissenburg.The village of Baden founded and established in 1855, was originally named after an old bachelor living in the area. Jacob Beck, born in the Grand Duchy of Baden-Baden, German, settled in the village and later renamed Baden in 1854. Baden was also the birthplace of Sir Adam Beck, founder of Ontario's public hydro-electric system.By 1864, there was a school and the population was 400.A historical plaque near Baden honours Christian Nafziger, an Amish Mennonite from Munich, Germany who arrived in 1822 with about 70 families. With assistance from local Mennonites, he was able to obtain the "German Block" (now Wilmot Township) from the Government; many other Amish from Europe settled here.